Ares-class Battleship
The Ares-class Battleship was a large warship classification within The Royal Allegiance Navy during the Swarm War. Despite its advanced age, it served throughout the Swarm War, albeit in less important roles towards the end of the conflict. A potent vessel, the ship was essentially a scaled-up destroyer, though with longer operational range, enhanced atmospheric capacity and a larger onboard complement of troops and fighters. These factors meant that the Ares-class Battleship was a valued ship and a powerful one too, even in spite of its age. Introduced in 2654, it was refitted in 2733 as the Swarm War erupted, and fitted with up-to-date technology and six new heavy turrets. It possessed a large armament able to destroy both starfighters and warships, enabling it a large amount of autonomy compared to other vessels. The ship was officially replaced in 2752 by the Crown-class Dreadnought, though it continued service in reserve and secondary fleets throughout the war. The ship's hull classification was BB, reflecting its status as a battleship. Role The Ares-class Battleship was initially designed as a dedicated ship-to-ship combat vessel, omitting all starfighter complement and shipboard troop capacity for extra armaments. However, as early battles in the Swarm War showed, this design was fatally vulnerable to both Swarm mass-starfighter tactics and Swarm boarding tactics. As a result, very early on in the conflict, these ships were upgraded with better single ship capacity and more onboard troops. Following the class' upgrade, they were put to use in more of a multi-role cruiser capacity, or operating on extensive long-range missions. They were quite capable of handling themselves without the need of escort, however they did carry a single small patrol ship for additional support on missions far form reinforcements. The Ares-class was deadly to frigates, and could generally win in a skirmish against a destroyer. It could take down a cruiser with difficulty, or more easily with assistance from its starfighter complement. In large-scale combat they usually complemented and supported the Hera-class Carrier and Athena-class Cruiser in their assaults on the largest vessels. They had a secondary use of atmospheric occupation, similar in concept to the CCS-class Battlecruiser. They were able to spend prolonged periods of time in atmosphere, providing close air support and troops to ground battles. They were the standard heavy warship and capital ship in the Allegiance's arsenal. Their numbers were limited, so, wherever possible, their roles were taken on by the smaller Triton-class Heavy Destroyer and the Apollo-class Frigate. They were common enough to be well-known throughout most Allegiance worlds, and most Battlegroups had at least one of these ships. Larger Battlegroups or those geared towards ship-to-ship combat would have a higher proportion of these vessels than other, smaller ships. The Ares-class was often called the 'bigger brother' of the Triton-class Heavy Destroyer, due to the fact that they both focused on ship-to-ship combat. However, the Triton-class was faster and more manoeuvrable due to its smaller size, but was weaker in terms of firepower and armour. The Ares-class focused on all aspects of naval combat, including a large starfighter complement, something lacking with the Triton-class. External Layout Internal Layout Armament Weaknesses Shielding Armour Engines and Powerplant Complement Construction Operational History Ships of the Line *''HMS Ares'' (BB-20253) (Class namesake) *''HMS Morning Light'' *''HMS Sovereign'' *''HMS Gateway Unto Heaven'' *''HMS Will to Fight'' *''HMS Strength of Soul'' *''HMS Deviant Transcendence'' *''HMS Star of Hope'' *''HMS Order'' Category:Ship Classes of The Royal Allegiance